The blackhouse at Arnol, the only one still intact in Lewis. Smoke from the peat fire
inside permeates the thatch (and clothes, and lungs), drying it out and preserving
it; if the fire went out, the roof would rot away. The thatch drains into the
earth-filled gap between the inner and outer walls, making a windproof
seal of mud. Hebrideans still lived in these until the post-war years,
as late as the early 1970s.
The Western Isles · Detail · Speedysnail
©2004 Rory Ewins